Tag: creative

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Monday’s News

It appears that my plans can change in 5 minutes or the length of time it takes the Dr. to say you may have torn your tendon. So, I am no longer looking forward to sewing for the comic con as I was thinking of doing. I can always do the comic con later. The good news is that I will get a lot of time sitting with my foot up which is always good for the crocheted items in the shop! I have been working on some little things but I will surprise you with them next week.

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My family cleaned the flower beds out for me this past week. They worked hard as the beds had been neglected over the past year.

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Here you can see the rose bush and the sage that grow by the front door. We need to put some weed blocker down and then cover it in mulch in an effort to cut down on the grass growing back. I had a lovely package yesterday that was exciting and cheerful at the same time. I received these beautiful yarns in the mail from my friend Rose. Rose does lots of fancy knitting and these are (probably) a small part of her destash. They are all shades of brown and orange and I can hardly wait to get started on them. I have some ideas and they are percolating while I work on some other little things.

2014-04-16 12.51.32Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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Finally completely done! 100 items in 100 days

This is the final post of 100 items in 100 days!

I finally caught up with myself and I finished these items for the 100 items in 100 days.

Finally completely done! 100 items in 100 days

Lavender and rice pocket warmers or relaxation hearts, or hot or cold pads. These are pretty much for whatever you need them to be. They are filled with rice and lavender buds. You could also put the in the dryer for freshly scented clothes.Finally completely done! 100 items in 100 days

I finally finished up these non paper paper towels. I have had them cut out for ages and they just needed to be sewn.

So there you go the last two items that I needed to post to really be officially finished.

Talk to you later,

Karen

Here is the previous post on this challenge: http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2014/04/01/april-fools/

and the post before that: http://www.chocolatedogstudio.com/2014/02/05/progress/

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OKCMOA again!

We also saw a wonderful exhibit of recycled items called Come on down by Lisa Hoke.

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This collage art was about 30 feet long and the colors covered all the colors in packaging that you see on your grocery store shelves. There was a video at the beginning that talked about how she created this art work.  She worked in 2 or 3 foot sections to make it easier to work with. You could watch a time elapse of her putting the collage on the walls of the museum.

It is awesome incredible artwork full of life and color. She has friend and family save their recyclables for her. It is a great example of creating with what you have on hand.

http://www.okcmoa.com/see/exhibitions/come-on-down-by-lisa-hoke/

You can see a panoramic photo of the installation on her website as well as her other collage work here: http://www.lisahoke.com/pages/newInstallations/74.html

talk to you later,

Karen

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Oklahoma City Museum of Art!

We spent the weekend away from our children. It has been about 10 years since we planned to spend time away from them with a purpose. The intensive child rearing years can be overwhelming. We got stuck in just planning to get them to adult age and had not planned beyond that horizon. The end of child rearing and the speedy approach of the empty nest is now only about 3-4 years away. So, it was more than time to spend time talking, dreaming, planning and thinking what we would do in the future. We visited the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and saw the Ansel Adams art exhibit and also the Dale Chihuly Glass exhibit. 2014-04-05 12.31.46 2014-04-05 12.34.05

We weren’t allowed to take photos in the Ansel Adams exhibit, so I don’t have anything to show you of the beauty he captured in his photographs.

I have been wanting to see the Chihuly Glass exhibit for years and years. It was incredible and the photos I took do not do his work justice. The blown glass is enormous and he created with bright colors. Imagine the bright colors of my crochet blankets only glowing. Each piece of glass appeared to glow from the inside.

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This is a boat with giant  glass marbles. The colors were intense and bright. The same range as the colors in the photo below. This is a ceiling installation in a hallway. The colors in this photo are more true to life.

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We also saw a wonderful exhibit of recycled items called http://www.okcmoa.com/see/exhibitions/come-on-down-by-lisa-hoke/

I will tell you more about her art soon!

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Recycle Crafts

The Challenge of creating 100 items in 100 days has lead me to some interest recycling projects. Here are some of my favorites. I may use these ideas for my challenge items as they look fun, easy and I already have ALL of the supplies.

http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/green-crafts-0309#slide-25
http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/green-crafts-0309#slide-28

I like to recycle when I am creating but I don’t want to have to collect 59 million candy wrappers or bread tabs or plastic bottles to be able to finish the project. I like it to be quick and to the point using  materials that I already have on hand. If I have to go out and buy something to create a recycled craft, I feel like it is defeating the purpose of recycling as a craft. I love the crafts listed on here as I can create them pretty much anytime as the supplies I already own.

 

http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/card-wallets#slide-3

 

http://craftsbyamanda.com/2012/10/recycle-craft-cd-coasters.html
http://www.henryhappened.com/diy-braided-t-shirt-bracelets.html

 

http://greenbeesbees.blogspot.com/2008/08/fabric-covered-altiod-tins.html

These are just cute little tins.

http://www.ohmylookbook.com/2014/01/diy-vela-de-madera.html

Such cute candle holders. These would be perfect for Autumn on through Christmas..

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=329854.msg3809291#msg3809291

and a super cute washer necklace idea!

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

 

 

 

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71- 76 of the 100 items in 100 days

Here are the other brooches that I have been working on.

Some Kandinsky inspired circle brooches. 2014-03-15 22.39.35

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And some Spring Tulips!

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This is #71 – 76.

They were fun to make and something new for the shop. I still have a ton of felt left, though the bead supply is getting low. I started the challenge with this.

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So, I am using up my bead supply with these pins. It is hard to imagine that I am only 24 items from being finished with the challenge. I started on January 17 and it is only March 17 now.  So if you count the days;15 days in January, 28 days in February, and 16 days in March, for a total of 59 days! I am super motivated as I really need to buy some critical supplies for the shop! : )

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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Felt Brooches in the Works

I had so much fun sewing the felt brooches that I thought I would show you a bit of the process. I just love all of these pretty wooden beads. They came from my stash of beads left over from my daughters’ jewelry making.

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I cut out the felt and decided on the design.2014-03-14 14.12.37

Then the stitching and beading began. It was so much fun to create something from start to finish in one day! I have some more in the works and I hope to show them to you later this week.

This is all that I have left of these particular beads, though there is a bunch of felt left!

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See you later,

Karen

Karen

 

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Felt Brooches

I have an over abundance of felt in black, pink, red and lime green. I also have a ton of beads slightly larger than seed beads. I thought I could combine them into these brooches. I know that I am going to make more today as the mood has hit and the hands are commanding a prolonged rest.

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I have seven brooches sewn and beaded! These would be #64 – 70!

Talk to you later,

Karen

 

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#49 and #50!

It has been awhile since I posted in my 100 items in 100 days. I have been working on it nearly every day. I have just not had time to post photos of my work. It will be another couple days until I can sit down and take some great photos. It has also been overcast and cloudy, which makes for drab and dull photos. I will leave you with these quick pictures I took of some embroidery hoops I am working on. I am in the process of using up these embroidery hoops. As you can see there are so very many that need to be used!

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So these would numbers 49 and 50, which makes me half way there and on the downhill slope of the Challenge. I never thought I would be able to get this far but this is working out quite well! I have been forced to think outside the box and work on bit and small projects for my shop! It has been exciting to sit down and sew everyday.  I have made about 10 or more items that I need to photograph so I can show you.

Talk to you later,

Karen

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Scrap Busting with Quilts

IMG_0994-001Quilts are a time honored way to use scraps. These quilts were made by the women in my family, Grandmothers and Great- Grandmothers and I think one Great-Great Grandmother.

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This sun bonnet sue is one of my favorites.

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My Grandma was a member of a quilting group. They would meet once a week or month and quilt the top of a member’s quilt.  It was a social time and also a time to get much needed work done. These quilts were made for use and they kept the family warm on the cold winter nights.  My Aunts can sit down and tell you where each piece of fabric came from. They came from a time when women made their own clothes and skill with a needle and thread was valued. My Mom taught me to sew and I am teaching my girls or at least making sure they learn the basics.  Sewing is expensive  these days unlike my Grandmothers’ days when everyone had to have some skill at sewing.

I have been thinking about sewing some quilts with my scraps. I have sewn one quilt top that is just strips of fabric but the more complicated patterns are calling to me. I need to baste all the layers together but I keep putting it off.

Talk to you later,

Karen